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Haptics for Human Augmentation
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Haptics for Human Augmentation

A special issue of Multimodal Technologies and Interaction (ISSN 2414-4088).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (17 May 2019) | Viewed by 12772

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Troy McDaniel

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Polytechnic School, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ 85212, USA
Interests: haptic interfaces; robotics; smart cities; human–computer and human–machine interactions; machine learning, especially for haptics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Computer Science and Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
Interests: haptic user interfaces; machine learning; multimedia; assistive technology
Dr. Ramin Tadayon

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
Interests: serious games; haptics for rehabilitation; tele-training
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Yuichi Kurita

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
Interests: haptics; human augmentation; physical human–robot interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to submit to our special issue on haptic technology for human augmentation. Haptics is an interdisciplinary field exploring the science of touch and technology. While still in its infancy, tremendous interest, advancement, and commercial potential has been seen within the last decade. At the same time, interest in human augmentation, or expansion of our senses and abilities, has grown. It is therefore timely to explore the intersection of haptics and human augmentation. Preliminary explorations include vibrotactile compass belts that give users a new “sense” of direction; soft “muscles” that increase strength and reduce fatigue; and electrotactile devices that build new balance systems in the brain for those with vestibular damage. While much effort for human augmentation has been applied toward rehabilitative and assistive purposes, augmentation need not restrict itself to disability; instead, when viewed in the general sense as “augmenting human ability”, haptic technology is applicable in a broader range of areas. If we consider ability as a spectrum, haptic technology for human augmentation provides gains in ability regardless of where a user falls within this spectrum, whether we are enhancing “disability” to “ability”, or “ability” to “super-ability”. This special issue invites contributions in areas of haptic sensory substitution/augmentation; haptic assistive technology for sensory, physical, or cognitive impairments; haptic rehabilitative technology including new devices for neurorehabilitation; haptic healthcare technology including surgical simulators and devices for personal health and wellbeing; haptic gerontechnology for the aging population; haptic human-computer interaction; multimedia that engages the sense of touch including virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality; multimodal interaction between the sense of touch and our other senses; as well as user studies, including psychological and psychophysical studies, that make fundamental contributions toward realizing haptic technology for human augmentation.

Dr. Troy McDaniel
Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan
Dr. Ramin Tadayon
Dr. Yuichi Kurita
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Haptic Modeling
  • Haptic Feedback
  • Haptic Devices
  • Application of Haptics Technology
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Human-Centered Computing
  • Human Factors
  • Assistive Technology
  • Rehabilitative Technology
  • Sensory Substitution
  • Sensory Augmentation
  • Human Augmentation
  • Physical Human-Robot Interaction
  • Exoskeleton
  • Virtual Reality
  • Musculoskeletal Analysis
  • Sports Augmentation

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 6373 KiB  
Article
A Review of Pneumatic Actuators Used for the Design of Medical Simulators and Medical Tools
by Thibault Sénac, Arnaud Lelevé, Richard Moreau, Cyril Novales, Laurence Nouaille, Minh Tu Pham and Pierre Vieyres
Multimodal Technol. Interact. 2019, 3(3), 47; https://doi.org/10.3390/mti3030047 - 2 Jul 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5508
Abstract
Simulators have been traditionally used for centuries during medical gestures training. Nowadays, mechatronic technologies have opened the way to more evolved solutions enabling objective assessment and dedicated pedagogic scenarios. Trainees can now practice in virtual environments representing various kind of patient and body [...] Read more.
Simulators have been traditionally used for centuries during medical gestures training. Nowadays, mechatronic technologies have opened the way to more evolved solutions enabling objective assessment and dedicated pedagogic scenarios. Trainees can now practice in virtual environments representing various kind of patient and body parts including physio-pathologies issues. Gestures, to be mastered, vary according to each medical specialty (e.g., ultrasound probe orientations, or forceps installation during assisted delivery). Hence, medical students need kinesthetic feedback in order to significantly improve their learning capabilities. Gesture simulators require haptic devices with variable stiffness actuators. Existing solutions do not always fit the requirements because of their significant size. Contrary to electric actuators, pneumatic technology is low-cost, available off-the-shelf and offers a better mass–power ratio. However, it presents two main drawbacks: nonlinear dynamics and need for a compressed air supply. During the last decade, we have developed several haptic solutions based on pneumatic actuation (e.g., birth simulator, epidural needle insertion simulator) and, recently, in a joint venture with Prisme laboratory, a pneumatic probe master device for remote ultrasonography. This paper recalls literature scientific approaches on pneumatic actuation developed in the medical context and illustrated with the aforementioned applications to highlight the benefits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Haptics for Human Augmentation)
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13 pages, 5040 KiB  
Article
Exploring User Perception Challenges in Vibrotactile Haptic Display Using Resonant Microbeams under Contact with Skin
by Daehan Wi and Angela A. Sodemann
Multimodal Technol. Interact. 2019, 3(2), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/mti3020038 - 28 May 2019
Viewed by 3059
Abstract
Resonant vibrotactile microbeams use the concept of resonance to excite the vibration of cantilever beams, which correspond to pixels of an image. The primary benefit of this type of tactile display is its potential for high resolution. This paper presents the concept of [...] Read more.
Resonant vibrotactile microbeams use the concept of resonance to excite the vibration of cantilever beams, which correspond to pixels of an image. The primary benefit of this type of tactile display is its potential for high resolution. This paper presents the concept of the proposed system and human skin contact experiments to explore user perception challenges related to beam vibration during skin contact. The human skin contact experiments can be described in five phases: dried skin contact to metal beam tips, wet and soaped skin contact to metal beam tips, skin contact with a constraint, normal force measurement, and skin contact to the tips of silicone rubber beams attached to metal beam tips. Experimental results are analyzed to determine in what cases of skin contact the beams stop vibrating. It is found that the addition of silicone rubber beams allows the primary metal beams to continue vibrating while in contact with skin. Thus, the vibration response of a metal beam with silicone rubber beams is investigated for the better understanding of the effect of silicone rubber beams on the metal beam vibration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Haptics for Human Augmentation)
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17 pages, 4762 KiB  
Article
Recognition of Tactile Facial Action Units by Individuals Who Are Blind and Sighted: A Comparative Study
by Troy McDaniel, Diep Tran, Abhik Chowdhury, Bijan Fakhri and Sethuraman Panchanathan
Multimodal Technol. Interact. 2019, 3(2), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/mti3020032 - 8 May 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3301
Abstract
Given that most cues exchanged during a social interaction are nonverbal (e.g., facial expressions, hand gestures, body language), individuals who are blind are at a social disadvantage compared to their sighted peers. Very little work has explored sensory augmentation in the context of [...] Read more.
Given that most cues exchanged during a social interaction are nonverbal (e.g., facial expressions, hand gestures, body language), individuals who are blind are at a social disadvantage compared to their sighted peers. Very little work has explored sensory augmentation in the context of social assistive aids for individuals who are blind. The purpose of this study is to explore the following questions related to visual-to-vibrotactile mapping of facial action units (the building blocks of facial expressions): (1) How well can individuals who are blind recognize tactile facial action units compared to those who are sighted? (2) How well can individuals who are blind recognize emotions from tactile facial action units compared to those who are sighted? These questions are explored in a preliminary pilot test using absolute identification tasks in which participants learn and recognize vibrotactile stimulations presented through the Haptic Chair, a custom vibrotactile display embedded on the back of a chair. Study results show that individuals who are blind are able to recognize tactile facial action units as well as those who are sighted. These results hint at the potential for tactile facial action units to augment and expand access to social interactions for individuals who are blind. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Haptics for Human Augmentation)
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